World Baseball Classic Day 5: Cuba, Italy win the numbers game
By Bill Felber
World Baseball Classic: Colombia 5, Mexico 4 (10 innings)
This certainly wasn’t the way Luis Urias envisioned his World Baseball Classic to begin.
The Milwaukee Brewers infielder fumbled Gustavo Campero’s two-out 10th-inning grounder, allowing Jorge Alfaro to score the go-ahead run in Colombia’s extra-inning victory. Alfaro, who was placed on second base via the tournament’s extra inning rule, had advanced to third on Reynaldo Rodriguez’ infield single.
Mexico squandered its own 10th-inning chance to at least tie after Alex Verdugo was placed at second. Joey Meneses struck out, Rowdy Tellez flied out, and Isaac Paredes was called out on a third strike breaking ball from Guillermo Zuniga that appeared to dive low and outside.
Although only the first game of Group C play in Phoenix, it might prove to be a pivotal one. Both Mexico and Colombia are perceived to be behind the U.S. but superior to Great Britain and Canada, the group’s other two teams. If those forecasts prove prescient, the victory could be decisive in moving Colombia ahead of Mexico when group play concludes next week.
The game was tightly played from the start. A Paredes base hit brought Meneses home with the game’s first run in the fourth, but an Elias Diaz double and a Reynaldo Rodriguez home run gave Colombia three runs in the top of the fifth.
Randy Arozarena’s home run in the inning’s bottom half immediately re-tied the game, and both teams added a run in the seventh.